fot  Is  |U?ai> 

®D0PtIirr 

- * - 

A  PERSONAL  TALK 

with 

Non-Confessing  Church  Members 

- 4 - 


J.  K,  Van  Baalen,  B.  D. 


//.2_2.  ,2.3 


LIBRARY  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

PRINCETON.  N.  J. 


Presented  by 


£  CAu/fVVia'T. 

Division . , 

Section . UL/.^.Z  , 


LET  IIS  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


A  PERSONAL  TALK 
with 

NON-CONFESSING  CHURCH  MEMBERS 

by 

JAN  KAREL  VAN  BAALEN,  B.  D. 

Author  of  “If  Thou  Shalt  Confess’’ 


“I,  even  I,  am  he  that  blotteth 
out  thy  transgressions  for  mine  own 
sake,  and  will  not  remember  thy 
sins.  Put  me  in  remembrance:  let  us 
plead  together;  declare  thou,  that 
thou  mayest  be  justified.” 

Isaiah  43:25,  26. 


The  Reformed  Press 
Grand  Rapids, 
Michigan 

iqO 


To  my  Esteemed  Teacher, 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Charles  R.  Erdman,  DD. 
Professor, 

Author, 

Preacher, 

Pastor, 

Christian. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/letuspleadtogethOOvanb 


INTRODUCTION 
(Intended  for  Parents  and  Pastors) 

No  sooner  had  the  booklet  If  Thou  Shalt 
Confess  appeared  but  it  was  suggested  that 
there  exists  a  still  greater  need  along  simi¬ 
lar  lines.  Your  booklet,  it  was  said,  is  in¬ 
tended  for  those  who  have  confessed  the 
Lord  Jesus.  These,  after  all,  have  taken  the 
decisive  step.  There  are  the  halting  ones, 
who  for  some  reason  or  other,  postpone  to 
do  this  needful  act,  though  they  have 
reached  the  years  of  discretion.  The  latter 
are  even  more  in  need  of  a  stimulus  than 
the  former. 

The  following  pages  aim  to  impart  some¬ 
thing  which,  it  is  hoped,  may  be  of  some 
value  in  this  field.  They  are  offered  to  our 
Reformed  people  with  some  hesitancy. 
First,  because  what  has  been  published  of 
a  similar  nature  in  other  than  our  Dutch 
American  circles,  seems  to  be  of  a  slightly 
different  purpose.  That  which  attracted 
our  attention  at  least,  appears  to  take  more 
the  place  of  our  Catechetical  instruction. 
With  us  the  intent  should  be  more  to  fill 
in  the  personal,  and  spiritual  elements 
which  are  not  fully  stressed  in  class  in¬ 
struction. 

In  the  second  place,  since  the  book  must 
be  concise  to  retain  the  interest  of  those  not 
so  inclined,  the  field  becomes  larger  than 
in  the  former  case.  If  those  who  lately 


confessed  have  much  the  same  difficulties, 
with  non-confessing  church  members  a 
great  variety  of  hindrances  are  found. 

There  is  the  annual  family  visitation.  It 
is  often  too  short.  Then,  too,  the  tender 
blade  of  the  new  life  is  often  shy  of 
the  bright  light  of  the  relatives’  presence. 
Thus  the  printed  page  may  be  absorbed 
more  calmly  and  with  more  presence  of 
mind. 

It  is  by  no  means  expected  that  all  non¬ 
confessing  members  will  go  to  the  trouble 
to  read  a  booklet  such  as  this.  But  there 
will  be  some  meditative  individuals  in  each 
church.  They  are  known  to  the  watchful 
eye  of  every  attentive  i  pastor. 

Why  should  not  the  church  use  a  part  of 
the  money  gathered  from  year  to  year  into 
the  catechetical  fund,  for  the  welfare  of 
those  who  made  the  offer?  Or,  why  should 
not  a  loving  parent  find  out,  from  the  pas¬ 
tor;  or,  better  still,  through  personal  con¬ 
tact,  if  his  child’s  soul  has  begun  to  blossom? 

The  most  appropriate  time  to  distribute 
these  pamphlets  would  seem  to  be  at  the 
close  of  a  winter’s  instruction. 

Whether  the  following  lines  do,  in  any 
way,  further  this  end  is  for  others  to  decide. 
The  present  writer  would  be  grateful  to 
receive  reviews,  suggestions,  or  criticisms. 

J.  K.  v.  B. 

Hammond,  Ind. 


DEAR  FRIEND 


The  matter  I  wish  to  discuss  with  you  is 
of  the  utmost  importance.  You  may  not  be 
given  to  much  reading;  but  will  you  not 
peruse  this  small  booklet,  since  the  well 
meant  advice  I  desire  to  give  you  may  per¬ 
haps  do  you  inestimable  good? 

I  promise  that  I  shall  not  do  all  the  talk¬ 
ing.  I  shall  try  to  let  you  state  your  side 
of  the  argument.  We  shall  plead  together. 

I  would  like  to  speak  of  your  personal 
relation  to  the  Savior,  as  you  give  evidence 
of  it  by  your  attitude  toward  His  Church. 
For  these  two  go  together.  One’s  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  Truth  may  be  insufficient,  and 
cue’s  love  of  Christ  more  or  less  subconsci¬ 
ous,  by  reason  of  extreme  youthfulness. 
But  where  one  has  matured  enough  to  love 
the  Lord  knowingly,  that  love  must  show 
itself  also  in  one ’s  attitude  toward  the 
church.  It  should  be  impossible  to  remain 
a  mere  baptized  member,  such  as  you  are 
thus  far. 

9 


\ 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


Let  me  try  to  vindicate  that  assertion 
to  your  own  satisfaction,  by  briefly  point¬ 
ing  out  to  you  what  is  understood  by 

THE  COVENANT  OF  GRACE 

Should  you  ask,  “What  is  the  covenant 
of  grace  V’  the  Westminster  Confession  of 
Faith* 1)  replies,  Man,  by  his  fall  having 
made  himself  incapable  of  life  by  that  cove¬ 
nant  (the  covenant  of  works),  the  Lord  was 
pleased  to  make  a  second,  commonly  called 
the  covenant  of  grace;  wherein  He  freely 
offereth  unto  sinners  life  and  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ,  requiring  of  them  faith  in 
Him,  that  they  may  be  saved,  and  promising 
to  give  unto  all  those  that  are  ordained  unto 
life ,  his  Holy  Spirit,  to  make  them  willing 
and  able  to  believe. 

This  is  plain  language,  and  sound.  The 
covenant  of  grace,  then,  is  the  third 
covenant  God  established  with  man;  and 
His  right  to  enter  into  the  covenant  rela¬ 
tion  with  man  at  each  time  beyond  dis¬ 
pute.  You  might,  however,  look  in  vain  for 


O  Written  by  the  celebrated  Assembly  of 

1^43-49>  and  still  one  of  the  Standards  of 
Presbyterians;  ch.  7,  par.  3. 

10 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


something  you  would  surely  expect  to  find 
in  a  covenant,  for  a  covenant,  according  to 
Webster  is,  “an  agreement  between  two  or 
more  persons  or  parties,  or  one  of  the 
stipulations  in  such  an  agreement/ ’  Hence, 
there  are  two  who  enter  upon  such  an 
agreement,  contract,  or  covenant ;  and 
while  each  party  was  free  not  to  enter  into 
covenant  relation  should  the  conditions 
seem  unsatisfactory  to  him,  after  the  cove¬ 
nant  has  been  made  both  parties  are  bound 
to  fulfil  its  conditions.  Thus,  if  you  should 
ask  a  contractor  (that  is,  one  who  makes 
contracts,  or  covenants)  to  submit  to  you 
plans  for  the  (building  of  a  home,  both  you 
and  he  would  be  free  to  enter  into  a  con¬ 
tract.  Only  after  you  have  come  to  an 
agreement  and  signed  it,  are  you  (both)  in 
duty  bound  to  abide  by  the  terms  of  the 
pact. 

Now  this  element  of  freedom,  on  both 
sides,  you  do  not  find  when  God  makes  a 
covenant  with  man.  He,  God,  is  free  to 
make  the  stipulations,  and  to  lay  down  the 
conditions  for  both  parties.  Man  can  only 
rest  in  the  will  of  God,  and  obey  His  orders. 
This,  of  course,  is  the  direct  result  of  God's 


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LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


sovereignty.  As  the  Creator  and  Owner  of 
man,  the  Almighty  can  do  with  His  crea¬ 
tures  as  it  seems  good  in  His  sight. 

But  there  is  more.  God  is  love.  His 
covenants  with  man  are  meant  as  blessings 
to  the  latter.  Again,  God  asks  of  man  only 
such  things  as  the  latter  can  do.  Thus  in 
the  first,  or  covenant  of  works,  God  made 
man  right.  Then  He  demanded  that  man 
should  do  right,  stating  that  He  would  give 
eternal  life  unto  him,  in  case  he  should  use 
His  good  gifts  (righteousness,  holiness)  in 
a  good  manner  (living  righteously,  holily). 

Of  the  second  covenant,  which  is  called 
the  covenant  of  nature,  or,  of  common 
grace,  we  shall  not  speak  at  this  time. 
What  we  are  interested  in  is  the  third  cove¬ 
nant.  This  is  called  the  covenant  of  saving, 
or  particular  grace;  saving  grace,  in  order 
to  distinguish  it  from  common  grace  which 
is  of  a  different  nature;  particular  grace, 
since  it  is  established  only  with  some,  and 
not  with  all  people,  as  is  the  covenant  of 
common  grace.  Its  blessings  are  of  a  par¬ 
ticular  nature.  Since  the  second  of  God’s 
covenants  with  man  is  also  frequently 
named  that  of  nature,  the  third  is  often 


12 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


alluded  to,  merely,  as  the  covenant  of 
grace.  In  this  case,  of  course,  saving  grace. 

It  is  not  different  here.  God  demands  of 
man  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  He  does  not 
require  “works”  as  in  the  first.  He  does 
not  ask  that  man  shall  keep  the  law  of  his 
Maker  in  order  thereby  to  gain  eternal  life. 
This  has  been  done  by  Christ.  And  not  only 
did  Jesus  keep  the  law  for  man,  but  He 
also  suffered  what  the  sinner  should  have 
suffered  for  violating  the  commandments 
of  God.  Hence,  in  His  great  mercy  the  in¬ 
sulted  Father  came  to  His  disobedient  and 
wayward  child,  saying,  By  grace,  without 
your  adding  a  particle,  I  will  give  you 
eternal  life,  including  complete  salvation 
from  your  sins  and  their  consequences. 

Surely,  God  has  the  right  to  offer  so 
great  salvation  unto  those  who  may  profit 
immensely  by  this  gracious  offer?  And  you 
agree  also  that  He  has  the  right  to  extend 
the  offer  to  as  many  as  He  desires  thus  to 
favor,  since  all  had  corrupted  their  way, 
and  transgressed  His  law,  thereby  breaking 
the  covenant  of  works? 

But  you  might  object  that  God  does, 
after  all,  require  of  man  that  he  shall  be- 


13 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


lieve,  and  that  man  cannot  believe  in 
Christ?  This  is  trne.  Man,  having  broken 
the  covenant  of  works,  is  unable  even  to 
wish  for  salvation.  He  hates  God.  He  does 
not  want  to  be  reconciled  unto  Him.  He 
rebels  against  the  idea  of  needing  a  Savior 
who  paid  the  penalty  for  him.  He  is  too 
proud  to  accept  of  his  own  choice,  a  grace 
that  is  offered  freely. 

But  here  is  the  point.  When  God  places 
man  into  this  covenant  relation  with  Him¬ 
self  it  includes  that  God  offers  unto  the 
sinner  that  very  faith  he  needs  in  order  to 
accept  the  precious  boon.  And  not  only 
does  He  offer  the  needed  qualities,  but  He 
actually  imparts  them  upon  those  He  is 
going  to  save.  These,  in  Scriptural  lan¬ 
guage,  are  the  elect.  We  must,  then,  con¬ 
sider,  who  are 

THE  PARTIES  TO  THIS  COVENANT 

In  the  light  of  Scripture  there  can  be  but 
one  answer  to  this  question.  The  Lord  God 
is  the  one  party.  Believers  and  their  chil¬ 
dren  form  the  other.  For  when  the  Lord 
first  put  His  promises  plainly  in  covenant 
language,  he  said  to  Abram,  l  will  establish 


14 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


my  covenant  between  me  and  thee  and  thy 
seed  after  thee  in  their  generations  for  an 
everlasting  covenant ,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee , 
and  to  thy  seed  after  thee  (Gen.  17:7). 

Now  it  is  evident  that  the  “seed”  of 
Abram  denotes  his  offspring.  But  on  the  one 
hand  this  is  not  limited  to  his  physical 
descendants,  while  on  the  other,  not  all  of 
these  were  God’s  elect  and  are  going  to  be 
saved  ultimately.  In  the  espistle  to  the 
Romans  you  find  both  of  these  truths  set 
forth  very  clearly.  In  the  ninth  chapter, 
wnere  the  doctrine  of  election,  or  predes¬ 
tination,  is  treated,  you  read,  Neither,  be¬ 
cause  they  are  the  seed  of  Abraham,  are 
they  all  children :  but,  In  Isaac  shall  thy 
seed  be  called  (vs.  7).  God  also  rejected 
Esau,  and  accepted  Jacob.  For  God  is  free 
to  have  mercy  on  whom  He  pleases,  and 
to  harden  whom  He  wills.  Yet,  Ishmael  who 
was  left  out  had  to  he  circumcised  as  a 
member  of  the  covenant  of  grace  as  well 
as  Isaac  who  was  accepted,  and  that  by 
special  command  of  the  Lord,  G'en.  17:10 . 

On  the  other  hand,  in  Romans  4  (read 
verses  11,  12,  16-18)  it  is  proven  that 
Scripture  does  not  intend  the  term  “seed 


i5 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


of  Abraham”  to  be  understood  of  his  des¬ 
cendants  after  the  flesh  alone.  There  is  also 
a  seed  which  is  of  the  faith  of  Abraham , 
as  well  as  a  seed  which  is  of  the  law.  Hence 
of  Abram  it  is  stated  that  he  is  the  father 
of  us  all,  namely  of  us  all  who  also  walk  in 
the  steps  of  that  faith  of  our  father  Abra¬ 
ham.  Which  faith  is  meant?  Of  that  faith 
of  our  father  Abraham,  which  he  had  being 
yet  uncircumcised.  These  words  are  added 
in  order  to  show  that  God  made  a  covenant 
with  Abraham,  which  would  include  all  of 
his  spiritual  posterity;  that  is,  Jews  who 
would  believe  as  Abraham  did,  and  spiri¬ 
tual  descendants  from  among  other  na¬ 
tions,  who  would  also  believe,  as  did  father 
Abraham.  For,  all  of  these  were  to  receive 
the  blessing  of  that  covenant,  which  may 
be  briefly  put  together  under  the  name  of 
righteousness  of  faith  ,(,vs.  13). 

In  order  to  make  plain  His  intention  to 
impart  righteousness  of  faith  or,  forgive¬ 
ness  of  sins  accepted  by  faith,  to  a  number 
of  elect  from  among  every  race,  God  gave 
the  promise  unto  Abram  before  he  was 
circumcised.  Why?  Because  later  on  the 
covenant  was  to  limit  itself  for  a  while  to 

16 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


cne  nationality.  That  was  to  be  Abraham’s 
natural  offspring.  They  were  to  receive 
circumcision  as  a  token,  or  a  sacrament, 
which  would  prove  to  them  that  they  were 
taken  into  this  covenant  relation.  If,  there¬ 
fore,  God  had  instituted  the  sacrament  of 
circumcision  before  establishing  the  cove¬ 
nant  with  Abram  it  might  have  been  in¬ 
ferred  that  the  covenant  was  to  extend  it¬ 
self  only  to  those  who  were  to  receive  the 
seal  of  circumcision. 

But,  since  Abram  received  the  promise 
before  the  limited  sacrament,  it  is  plain 
that  the  limited  dispensation  was  only  an 
interlude.  Consequently,  as  soon  as  the  in¬ 
tervening  period  was  finished,  a  new  sacra¬ 
ment  was  instituted  in  order  to  help  us  rid 
ourselves  of  the  thought  that  the  covenant 
blessings  belong  only  to  the  circumcised. 
This  was  done  by  the  Savior  Himself.  With 
Ilis  death  and  resurrection  the  original, 
world-wide  application  of  the  covenant 
blessings  was  to  be  realized.  Hence,  Paul 
calls  the  sacrament  of  baptism,  circum¬ 
cision;  a  different  circumcision,  not  made 
with  hands  as  was  the  old;  not  consisting 
of  a  physical  operation,  but  of  a  spiritual, 


1 7 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


♦ — of  a  cutting  out,  a  putting  off  the  body 
of  the  sins  of  the  flesh.  Of  what  does  this 
Mew  Testament  circumcision  consist?  By 
the  circumcision  of  Christ:  Buried  with 
Him  in  baptism.  See  Col.  2:11,12. 

Thus  you  see  that  baptism  has  come  in 
the  place  of  circumcision  as  the  sacrament, 
or  seal  and  evidence  that  we  are  members 
of  the  covenant  of  grace. 

Now  where  does  our  difficulty  come  in? 
Here :  Just  as  little  as  it  formerly  was 
enough  unto  salvation  to  be  a  physical 
descendant  of  Abram,  of  Isaac,  of  Israel, 
and  to  be  circumcised,  just  as  little  is  mere 
baptism  as  a  sign  and  seal  of  our  covenant 
relation  to  God  going  to  save  us.  For  they 
ore  not  all  Israel ,  which  are  of  Israel: 
Neither ,  because  they  are  the  seed  of  Abra¬ 
ham,  are  they  all  children  (Rom.  9:6,  7). 
Ishmael  "was  left  out.  So  was  Esau.  And  so 
are  today  the  majority  of  the  Jews.  For 
they  were,  and  they  are  not  the  true  chil¬ 
dren  of  Abram,  who  also  walk  in  the  steps 
of  that  faith  of  our  father  Abraham ,  which 
he  had  being  yet  uncircumised, .  And*  thus 
it  is  today.  The  condition  of  belonging  to 
the  covenant  group  has  been  stated  clearly: 

18 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


it  is  not  physical  descendancy  from  Abram, 
in  the  line  of  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  It  is  faith. 
As  soon  as  one  believes  in  Christ,  as  did 
these  patriarchs,  one  knows  that  God  did 
make  the  covenant  of  grace  with  him.  Nor 
is  this  all.  The  promise  again  holda,  to  be  a 
God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee 

. and  I  mill  be  their  God .  Children, 

therefore,  belong  to  the  covenant  circle. 
Children  of  believers,  who  are  the  true  seed 
of  Abram.  The  covenant  blessings  belong 
unto  them.  They  are  to  receive  the  New 
Testament  circumcision,  that  is  baptism,,  as 
a  sign  of  this.  See  Mark  10  :16  ;  Acts  2  :39. 

But  this  is  not  in  itself  an  unmistakable 
proof  that  they  are  among  the  chosen  unto 
life.  Baptism  is  not  a  sure  evidence  that 
there  is,  or  ever  will  be,  true,  saving  faith; 
not  any  more  than  the  circumcision  of  the 
little  Jewish  baby  was  that.  Consequently, 
we  find,  among  the  baptized  covenant 
youth,  all  kinds  of  folk.  There  are  those 
who  believe  in  Christ  ever  since  their  con¬ 
sciousness  awakes.  They  always  loved 
Christ.  At  first,  after  the  manner  of  little 
ones,  without  being  able  to  explain  their 
emotions.  They  could  not  very  well  come 


19 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


forward  with  concise  and  clear  ideas,  or 
give  reason  why  they  loved  Him.  But  as 
they  develop  intellectually,  and  physically, 
they  become  more  conscious  of  their  love, 
and  what  it  means.  They  know  that  they 
are  converted,  for  in  their  hearts  they  find 
two  tendencies.  There  is  the  old  man  as 
well  as  the  new,  of  which  Paul  speaks  (see 
Homans  7).  But  how  or  when  their  con¬ 
version  took  place  they  cannot  tell.  Altho 
all  those  who  have  been  set  apart  unto  the 
Lord’s  service  in  baptism  are  thereby 
obliged  to  walk  before  Him  in  newness  of 
life,  the  above  mentioned  is  by  no  means 
the  only  case.  There  are  those  who  live  a 
worldly,  sometimes  even  wicked  life,  until 
in  later  years  the  faithful  Covenant-God 
fulfills  His  promise  to  them,  bringing  them 
to  repentance  and  faith. 

Many  there  be  who  halt  betweeri  the  two 
sides.  Openly  to  choose  against  God,  and  to 
revel  in  sin  they  do  not  dare.  Firmly  to 
decide  that  with  the  aid  of  God  they  shall 
forsake  evil,  and  do  good,  is  more  than 
they  are  willing  to  undertake.  They  attend 
Sunday  School  and  Catechetical  Classes 
from  year  to  year;  but  they  do  not  step 


20 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


forward  with  the  bold  and  glad  confession, 
l  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth.  In  times 
of  spiritual  dullness,  such  as  these  are,  they 
are  very  numerous.  Calvin  was  of  the 
opinion  that  one  should  be  able  to  discern 
the  broken  body  of  Christ  at  the  age  of 
fourteen.  And  wThy  should  not  a  lad  of 
fourteen  be  aible  to  say,  I  love  Jesus,  for 
lie  is  my  Redeemer?  Yet  it  is  by  no  means 
uncommon  in  our  day  to  see  young  men 
and  women  of  twenty  years  and  more,  still 
linger  in  the  same  preparatory  classes  they 
entered  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and,  for  all 
cue  can  see,  without  apparent  result. 

This  is  not  surprising.  Our  churches  have 
had  smooth  sailing  for  many  a  decade. 
Most  of  their  members  did  not  join  the 
ranks  because  of  any  strong  conviction. 
They  were  born  into  the  church.  It  was  not 
as  in  the  days  of  earlier  or  later  persecu¬ 
tions,  when  joining  the  church  demanded 
sacrifice;  often  imperiling  one’s  life.  It 
has  been  rightly  said,  “When  the  church 
expands,  and  becomes  like  unto  the  stream 
which  loses  in  depth  that  which  it  gained 
in  width,  what)  should  be  the  rule  becomes 
exception.  Most  of  those  who  were  set 

21 


i 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


apart  unto  the  service  of  God  do  not  serve 
Him  from  their  youth;  a  rather  general 
unwillingness  to  serve  God  reveals  itself 
to  the  contrary  1).” 

Such  is  the  condition  today.  While  a 
Presbyterian  minister  of  our  own  day  still 
speaks  of  preparing  to  commune  at  the  age 
of  twelve  2),  I  fear  that  among  us  the 
pastor  who  would  begin  to  invite  boys  and 
girls  of  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age 
to  come  forward  and  confess  their  Savior, 
would  be  in  danger  of  being  criticized  for 
not  taking  the  matter  of  confession  seri¬ 
ously. 

And  yet  I  take  this  matter  so  very  seri¬ 
ously  that  I  am  convinced  I  realize  the 
importance  of  confessing  Christ  far  more 
than  they  who  remark  of  an  occasional 
confessor-at-fifteen,  “Surely,  he  does  not 
know  what  he  is  doing.”  Now  then,  if  you 
will  bear  with  me  another  minute  before 
I  shall  give  you  an  opportunity  to  voice 


J)  J.  Van  Andel,  Pastorale  Brieven.  Kampen. 
G.  Ph.  Zalsman.  1907.  p.  41. 

2)  Preparing  to  Commune.  Eight  Studies  for 
a  Catechumen  Class  by  George  Taylor,  Jr.,  B.D., 
Ph.D.,  Western  Theol.  Semin.  1918. 

22 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


your  objections,  I  would  like  to  say  just  a 
word  concerning  the 

NECESSITY  OF  CONFESSING 
THE  LORD  JESUS 

I  must  return  to  the  Covenant  of  Grace 
and  its  seal.  When  you  were  baptized,  God, 
the  Triune  God,  in  His  infinite  mercy, 
promised  and  sealed  unto  you  the  choice 
of  His  blessings.  Just  recall  the  beautiful 
words  of  our  “Form  for  the  Administra¬ 
tion  of  Baptism.  ”  For  when  we  are  baptized 
in  the  name  of  the  Father ,  God  the  Father 
vjitnesseth  and  sealeth  unto  us  that  he  doth 
make  an  eternal  covenant  of  grace  with  us, 
and  adopts  us  for  his  children  and  heirs, 
end  therefore  will  provide  us  with  every 
good  thing,  and  avert  all  evil  or  turn  it  to 
our  profit.  And  when  we  are  baptized  in 
the  name  of  the  Son,  the  Son  sealeth  un- 
to  us,  that I  he  doth  wash  us  in  his  blood 
from  all  our  sins  incorporating  us  into  the 
fellowship  of  his  death  and  resurrection  so 
that  we  are  freed  from  all  our  sins ,  and  ac¬ 
counted  righteous  before  God.  In  like  man¬ 
ner,  when  we  are  baptized  in  the  name  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Holy  Ghost  asstires  us 

23 


LET  US  -PLEAD  TOGETHER 


by  this  holy  sacrament  that  he  will  dwell  in 
vs,  and  sanctify  us  to  be  members  of  Christ , 
applying  unto  us  that  which  ive  have  in 
Christ,  namely,  the  washing  away  of  our 
sins,  and  the  daily  renewing  of  our  lives, 
till  we  shall  finally  be  presented  without 
spot  or  wrinkle  among  the  assembly  of  the 
elect  in  life  eternal. 

You  see  that  in  these  words  (which  are 
in  all  points  conformed  to  Scripture)  God 
is  said  to  have  given  Himself  away  to  the 
one  who  is  being  baptized.  God  the  Father, 
is  stated  to  forgive,  to  adopt,  to  take  care. 
Of  God  the  Son,  it  is  asserted  that  He 
washes  from  sin,  that  he  removes  every 
barrier  standing  between  God  and  the 
sinner.  Of  God  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  is  claimed 
that  He  applies  unto  us  the  salvation  which 
is  prepared  by  Christ ;  and,  that  He  enables 
us  to  begin  a  new  life,  to  proceed  in  this 
new  life  of  sanctification,  and  that  He  will 
continue  to  impart  unto  us  the  armor 
needed  in  the  good  fight,  until  we  shall  be 
fully  conquerors. 

From  this  you  may  readily  infer  that 
God  has  the  right  to  demand  that  we  accept 
the  proffered  grace,  and  live  for  Him.  And 


24 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


go  He  does.  To  live  for  God,  however, 
means  to  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart  and  with  all  thy  soul ,  and  with 
all  thy  mind  (Mat.  22:37).  If  anyone  so 
loves  his  Lord,  that  love  cannot  remain 
dormant  for  years  and  years.  We ,  having 
the  same  sjrArit  of  faith ,  according  as  it  is 
written,  I  believed,  and  therefore  have  I 
spoken:  we  also  believe  and  therefore 
speak  (2  Cor.  4:13).  You  see,  if  you  truly 
believe  in  this  Triune  God,  that  is,  if  you 
believe  that  He  imparts  Himself  to  you  in 
the  manner  described  above,  you  cannot 
keep  it  to  yourself.  It  is  not  a  matter  of, 
Shall  I  confess,  or  shall  I  not?  Shall  I  do 
it  now,  or  at  some  future,  hazily  undefined, 
period?  Your  love  becomes  a  flaming  fire, 
which  would  consume  your  heart  unless 
it  find  a  way  out.  True  faith  must  reveal 
itself,  and  that  both  in  word  and  deed.  And 
for  this  reason  Paul  mentioned  these  two, 
faith,  yes,  but  also  confession,  as  the  two 
requisites  in  order  to  be  saved:  If  thou 
shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord 

Jesus\,  and  shalt  believe  in  thine  heart . 

thou  shalt  be  saved.  For . . .  .with  the  mouth 


25 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


co’nfessi&n  is  made  unto  salvation  (Rom.  10: 

9,  10). 

And  in  the  same  spirit  the  Master  Him¬ 
self  has  promised  that  in  the  day  of  His 
second  coming  He  will  confess  before  His 
Father  whosoever  shall  have  confessed  Him 
before  men.  On  the  other  hand  He  equally 
solemnly  warned :  But  whosoever  shall  deny 
Me  before  men,  him  will  1  also  deny  be¬ 
fore  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  See 
Matt.  10:32,  Luke  12:8.  Nor  is  this  denial 
necessarily  in  the  bold  and  open  manner 
in  which  Peter  denied  his  Master,  with 
cursing  and  swearing.  For  whosoev&r  shall 
be  ashamed  of  me  and  of  my  words,  of  him 
shall  the  Son  of  man  be  ashamed,  when  he 
shall  come  in  his  own  glory,  and  in  his 
Father’s,  and  of  the  holy  angels  (Luke 
9:26). 

Confessing  Christ,  then,  is  giving  utter¬ 
ance  to  the  faith  within  you,  which  of  its 
very  nature  cannot  but  be  expressed  since 
faith  is  the  living  cord  which  connects  you 
with  Christ  as  the  controlling  power  in 
your  life.  I  do  not  expect  you,  therefore, 
to  make  confession  rashly;  but,  if  for  one 
reason  or  another,  you  refrain  from  con- 

26 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


fessing  your  faith  I  have  the  right  to  infer 
that  there  is  no  faith  extant.  And  that 
would  be  very  serious  and  sad  indeed.  For 
without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please  Him 
(Heb.  11:  6). 

ITenee,  there  must  be  something  wrong 
with  him  who  is  baptized  and  grows  up 
without  confessing  his  Savior.  Fdr  this 
reason  I  would  like  to  discuss  with  you 
some  of  the  things  that  seem  to  stand  in 
the  way  of  a  complete  surrender  to  Christ. 
Perhaps  I  may  be  able  to  express  your  own 
sentiment;  and  should  I  be  able  to  remove 
the  difficulty  felt  by  you,  that  would 
occasion  great  joy  to  you  and  me  alike. 

The  first  obstacle  found  I  might  call 
open 

HOSTILITY 

The  carnal  ndnd  is  enmity  against  God 
(Rom.  8:7).  This  we  see  in  those  who 
deliberately  transgress  His  commandments, 
turn  their  back  on  Him,  and  take  pleasure 
in  sin.  Should  I  have  thought  at  all  that 
this  were  your  case  I  would  not  urge  you, 
of  course,  to  even  begin  to  think  of  con¬ 
fessing  Christ.  I  would  merely  remind  you 


27 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


that  you  have  to  do  with  a  God  Who  will 
not  tolerate  sin,  Who  is  a  consuming  fire 
(Heb.  12:29) ;  that  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to 
fall  into  the  hands  of  a  living  God .  (Heb. 
10:31);  and  above  all,  that,  That  servant, 
'which  knew  his  Lord’s  will,  and  prepared 
not  himself,  neither  did  according  to  his 
Vjill,  shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes  (Lk. 
12:47).  I  would  ask  you  whether  after  all,, 
your  own  conscience  does  not  tell  you  that 
you  are  responsible  for  your  deeds;  that 
God  is  just  if  at  the  end  He  will  punish 
you  for  your  wickedness ;  whether  you 
think  that  in  the  day  of  judgment  you  will 
take  the  same  pride  in  your  present  sinful 
ways;  and  whether  you  expect  to  assume 
the  boastful  attitude  toward  the  Holy  One 
in  that  day? 

But  I  do  not  cherish  the  thought  that 
you  are  of  this  type.  Most  likely  you  would 
not  even  have  followed  my  discussion  so 
far  had  you  been  of  this  frame  of  mind. 
Only  let  me  warn  you  that  the  very  com¬ 
pany  of  such  people  should  be  shunned  by 
you.  Do  not  think  that  you,  whose  spiritual 
life  is  at  best  but  incompletely  developed, 
could  inhale  the  atmosphere  of  the  mocker, 

28 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


of  the  Sabbath-breaker,  without  injury  to 
yourself. 

What  you  need  is  to  associate  with  good 
Christian  people,  who  live  their  confession, 
and  take  an  active  part  in  the  work  of  the 
church.  This  may,  under  God’s  blessing, 
prove  a  stimulant  toward  overcoming  that 
habitual  attitude  of 

CARELESSNESS 

which  characterizes  many  a  young  man 
and  woman. 

When  asked  why  they  do  not  confess 
their  Savior  they  reply,  “I  have  not  thought 
enough  about  it.”  But  this  is  awful.  Here 
you  are  all  the  way  from  eighteen  to 
twenty  four  years  of  age.  You  have  thought 
of  your  earthly  career,  and  you  have  for  a 
number  of  years  been  preparing  for  the 
future.  Perhaps  you  have  even  let  your 
thoughts  wander  into  the  direction  of 
matrimony.  Thus  in  every  way  you  seem 
to  have  reached  a  stage  of  maturity,  with 
the  one  exception  only  that  to  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  your  spiritual  life  you  have  paid 
no  attention.  Is  it  not  time  that  you  should 
think  of  these  things?  Are  you  not  playing 


29 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


with  fire?  For,  no  matter  how  little  we 
like  to  think  of  death  approaching,  is  it 
not  appointed  unto  men  once  to  die,  but 
after  this  the  judgment  (Heb.  9:27)?  And 
you  are  no  exception  to  that  rule?  Now,  I 
am  not  asking  of  you,  who  are  still  young, 
and  have  life  before  you,  to  go  your  way 
meditating  upon  the  terror  of  death.  Not 
at  all.  But:  You  do  not  know  when  you 
will  die,  do  you?  Or  how ,  nor  where?  You 
do  know  this  one  thing  that  you  are  going 
to  die,  sooner  or  later.  Then  what  would  be 
better,  to  face  the  inevitable,  and  prepare 
for  it,  or  to  ignore  itl  In  the  first  case 
death  will  have  no  terror  for  you.  You  are 
ready  whenever  it  comes.  Hence  you  may 
forget  about  it  to  a  large  extent  and  pre¬ 
pare  for  a  useful  life  here  on  earth.  In  the 
other  case,  you  will  never  be  able  to  remove 
the  awkward  thought  of  the  impending 
fate  entirely  from  you.  Every  funeral 
procession  you  will  meet,  each  crape  you 
will  see  on  a  door  will  remind  you,  “Hodie 
mihi,  eras  tibi :  Today  me,  tomorrow  thee.” 
If  the  sting  be  taken  out  of  death,  life  be¬ 
comes  bearable.  Without  this  we  can  only 
succeed  in  covering  up  partially  that  which 


30 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


we  do  not  wish  to  see,  and  blindfolding 
ourselves.  In  the  latter  case,  .death  may 
come  after  a  long  time ;  yet  it  will  overtake 
us  unaware.  But  if  we  are  prepared  the 
worst  will  be  the  best  thing:  death  will  be 
a  passing  over  from  an  imperfect  life  into 
the  perfect,  led  by  the  hand  of  an  able 
Pilot.  For  of  Christ,  it  is  stated,  that  he 
became  man  that  through  death  He  might 
destroy  him  that  had  the  power  of  death, 
that  is  the  devil;  and  deliver  them  who 
through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime 
subject  to  bondage  (Heb.  2:14,  15). 

Oh,  how  foolish  you  are,  are  you  not,  in 
passing  by  the  salvation,  in  unwarrantedly 
postponing  to  apply  for  the  great  salvation 
Jesus  has  offered  you  since  the  day  He  had 
you  baptized  into  His  precious  Name !  And 
how  loathsome  you  must  be  in  the  sight 
of  God!  You  think  that  it  is  a  small  matter 
to  go  about  your  daily  routine  without 
making  sure  Christ  is  your  personal  Re¬ 
deemer?  You  forget  that  of  all  people  none 
are  more  offensive  than  they  whom  He  has 
taken  into  'His  church,  but  they  neither 
love  nor  hate,  but  just  ignore  Him.  The 
Lord  your  God  is  a  jealous  God.  He  wants 


31 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


to  be  first  in  your  heart,  to  occupy  the 
prominent  place  in  your  life.  Of  all  seven 
churches  in  Asia  the  Laodicean  Church  was 
most  despicable  in  the  sight  of  Christ  for 
this  very  reason.  To  them  He  sent  the 
message,  I  know  tliy  works,  that  thou  art 
neither  cold  nor  hot:  I  would  thou  wert 
cold  or  hot.  So  then  because  thou  art  luke- 
imrm,  and  neither  cold  nor  hot,  I  wdl  spue 
Ihee  out  of  my  mouth  (Rev.  3:15,  16).  And 
here  you  lightheartedly  assert  that  you 
have  not  given  the  matter  of  your  personal 
relation  to  Him  much  thought !  Is  it  not 
time  that  you  should  pay  more  attention 
to  these  things?  Would  it  not  be  good 
should  you  decide  to  pray  every  night, 
“Lord,  make  me  more  serious  minded. 
Grant  that  I  may  see  the  values  of  life  in 
their  true  proportions.  Teach  me  to  put 
first  the  more  important  things.  Grant  that 
I  may  think  more  of  the  salvation  Thou 
hast  so  graciously  promised  me.  I  ask  this 
in  the  Name  of  Him  in  whose  Name  the 
promise  was  made  sure.” 

Perhaps,  however,  I  have  not  pictured 
you  right.  You  agree  that  there  are  such 
people,  but  you  are  not  of  their  number. 


32 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


To  the  contrary-  You  have  often  thought 
of  giving  your  heart  to  Jesus,  and  confess¬ 
ing  to  the  world  the  fact,  but  your  difficul¬ 
ties  are  different.  You  are  one  of  those  of 
whom  Scripture  says,  Lo,  this  only  have  l 
found ,  that  God  hath  made  man  upright, 
Irut  they  have  sought  out  many 

INVENTIONS 

that  is,  excuses,  (Eccl.  7:29).  Would  you 
mind  if  I  mention  some  of  the  inventions 
your  erring  heart  has  produced?  Or  the 
heart  of  some  one  else?  I  would  divide 
them  chiefly  into  two  kinds.  There  are  bold 
inventions.  And  there  are  specious  excuses. 

(A)  BOLD  INVENTIONS 

Some  say,  I  cannot  belong  to  the  same 
church  with  people  who  gossip,  slander,  or 
swear.  My  answer  would  be,  Friend,  why 
beholdest  thou  the  mote  that  is  in  thy 
brother’s  eye,  but  considerest  not  the  beam 
that  is  in  thine  own  eye  (Matt.  7 :2)  ?  “That 
is  no  mote”,  you  say.  But  you  should  not 
judge  some  one  else,  especially  not  as  long 
as  you  are  far  from  perfect  yourself.  These 
people  may  be  better  Christians  than  you 


33 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


are.  They  may  at  times  feel  very  badly  on 
account  of  the  many  and  grievous  sins 
which  still  dwell  in  their  breasts.  For  no 
Christian  gets  rid  of  sin  in  this  life.  But 
every  Christian  fights  against  it.  And 
gradually,  though  falling,  rising,  and  stum¬ 
bling  once  more,  he  makes  progress  on  the 
way  of  life.  In  case  the  people  you  are  re¬ 
ferring  to  do  not  repent  is  that  a  sound 
reason  for  you  not  to  obey  the  Master’s 
command?  True,  the  church  on  earth  is  not 
perfect.  No  one  denomination  is.  No  single 
member  is.  Would  you  go  so  far  as  to  deny 
for  this  reason  that  the  denomination  to 
which  you  belong  (for  you  are  a  baptized 
member  of  it)  is  not  a  church  of  Jesus 
Christ?  Did  He  withdraw  His  Spirit  from 
it  entirely  ?  If  not  so,  is  it  not  possible  that 
as  soon  as  you  begin  to  think  more  of  your 
own  sins  you  will  be  offended  less  by  some 
one  else ’s  ?  That  when  you  start  to  pay  more 
attention  to  what  is  lacking  in  you,  you 
will  appreciate  Christ  and  His  church  in¬ 
stead  of  pointing  to  the  shortcomings  of 
others?  You  should  not  seek  admission  to 
the  full  rights  of  membership  because  of 
people,  nor  should  you  refrain  from  doing 


34 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


so  on  account  of  them.  The  one  for  whose 
sake  you  should  do  it  is  Christ.  For  He  is 
the  head  of  the  Church.  To  Him  you  go 
when  you  come  to  His  church  in  spite  of 
its  imperfections. 

Or,  did  you  intend  to  say  that  “  since 
there  are  so  many  hypocrites  in  the  church, 
you  can  he  just  as  good  without  its  walls 
as  within,  nor  are  they  who  belong  to  the 
church  any  better  for  it”?  In  that  case 
permit  me,  my  friend,'  first  of  all  to  deny 
you  the  right  of  generalizing.  That  is  al¬ 
ways  a  very  poor  way  of  reasoning.  I  admit 
that  the  church  also  contains  hypocrites, 
but  how  many,  is  known  neither  to  you 
nor  to  me.  We  had  better  be  careful  lest 
we  place  ourselves  in  the  judgment  seat  of 
God.  That  is  a  place  where  we  do  not  be¬ 
long.  And  we  might  judge  erroneously.  For 
man  looketh  on  the  outward  appearance , 
but  the  Lord  looketh  an  the  heart  (1  Sam. 
16:7). 

Secondly,  your  argument  does  not  hold. 
You  do  not  deny,  do  you,  that,  altho  it  is 
possible  to  belong  to  the  church  as  a  hypo¬ 
crite,  there  are  also  sincere  members?  Such 
as  truly  seek  to  serve  the  Lord?  Nor  that 


35 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


such  upright  fearers  of  God  are  more  likely 
to  he  active  members  of  the  church,  and 
to  seek  their  associates  in  the  church  than 
to  remain  by  themselves?  That  these  guile¬ 
less  Christians  would  not  leave  the  church 
because  in  it  they  receive  many  blessings 
of  God?  Now  then,  I  am  not  asking  you  to 
increase  the  number  of  the  insincere.  But 
T  want  you  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  truthful 
within  the  church.  Please,  do  not  deceive 
yourself.  Do  not  point  at  some  one  else’s 
faults  in  order  to  cover  your  own.  For  that 
is  the  hypocrisy  of  the  Pharisee  itself.  It 
will  lead  you  nowhere. 

Thirdly,  have  you  stopped  to  think  why 
there  are,  and  must  be  hypocrites  in  the 
church?  Let  me  tell  youj.  There  is  a  human 
reason.  These  people  join  the  church  of 
Christ  because  it  soothes  their  conscience. 
They  know  very  well  that  the  church  is 

better  than  the  world.  Now  by  being 

♦ 

church-members  they  make  themselves  be¬ 
lieve  that  they  are  better  than  their  ac¬ 
tions  bespeak.  With  others,  it  is  still  worse. 
They  join  the  church  because  it  looks  res¬ 
pectable.  They  expect  to  gain  the  confi¬ 
dence  of  men,  for  honesty  is  expected  of 

36 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


church-members.  Thus,  to  them  religion  is 
“a  cloak  for  our  meanness  and  shame.’ ’ 
Very  logical,  is  it  not? 

There  is  also  a  diabolical  reason.  The 
devil  wants  the  church  to  consist  of  dis¬ 
honest  folk  as  well  as  of  true  Christians. 
A  church  with  nothing  but  saints  on  its 
roll  would  demand  too  much  respect.  Many 
who  now  halt  between  two  sides  would  be 
drawn  irresistibly  toward  the  church.  But 
the  devil  would  rather  see  them  stay  out¬ 
side.  Hence  he,  the  enemy,  goes  and  sows 
the  tares  among  the  wheat.  Thus  he  can 
more  easily  deceive  the  doubtful.  He  shows 
them  his  own  workmanship  within  the 
Church.  He  falsely  infers  that  “this  is  the 
result  of  the  church.”  Then,  he  commits 
the  sin  of  generalizing.  He  concludes,  “If 
that  is  the  specimen  the  church  turns  out, 
why  should  you,  Mr.  Goodman,  join  such 
a  bunch?”  With  the  possible  consequence 
that  Mr.  Goodman  stays  away  from  the 
church,  from  its  means  of  grace,  from  its 
many  excellent  members,  and  in  the  end 
considers  himself  too  good  for  all  this  sham. 
And  the  devil  keeps  him.  He  chuckles. 

Again,  there  is  a  divine  reason  why 


37 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


hypocrites  should  be  in  the  church.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  the  church  officers 
should  not  bar  or  expel  such  hypocrites 
whose  untruthfulness  can  be  proven.  Far 
from  it.  But  there  is  a  divine  reason  why 
it  shall  never  be  possible  to  detect  them  all. 
Christ  spoke  of  it  in  the  parable  of  the 
wheat  and  the  tares,  which  you  may  read 
in  Matthew  13 :24-30.  The  reason  set  forth 
is  that  the  right  of  separating  the  good 
from  the  evil  is  His,  and  His  only.  His  time 
to  do  this  has  not  yet  arrived.  If,  in  the 
meantime,  we  should  take  the  work  out 
of  His  hands  we  might  commit  errors,  and 
expel  the  deserving  with  the  ill-deserving. 
It  is  easy  to  see  why  Christ  tarries.  The 
number  of  the  elect  is  not  yet  complete. 

Thus  by  giving  Satan  a  chance  to  work, 
even  in  His  own  most  precious  church, 
Christ  will  at  the  end  of  things  come  out 
of  the  conflict  a  more  complete  victor.  Had 
He  permitted  the  enemy  to  work  only  out¬ 
side  the  church  he  could  always  claim  that 
he  had  not  had  a  fair  chance.  But  now  it 
will  appear  that  the  harvest  indeed  is 
plentiful  notwithstanding  the  sowing  of 
tares  by  the  enemy. 


38 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


So  I  think  we  may  drop  the  entire  argu¬ 
ment  of  not  joining  the  colors  because  of 
undesirable  soldiers  among  the  ranks.  In¬ 
stead  of  judging  others  we  had  better  make 
sure  that  our  own  motives  are  pure. 

There  is  another  bold  objection  which  is 
often  heard.  It  is  claimed,  “I  cannot  help 
it  that  I  was  baptized  and  belong  to  church. 
I  did  not  ask  for  it.”  I  know  it.  No  one 
would  have  ever  asked  for  it  unless  God 
had  first  made  him  desirous  of  salvation. 
But,  let  me  ask  you  a  simple  question. 
Supposing  your  parents  were  very  poor. 
They  cannot  afford  to  give  you  an  adequate 
education.  Along  comes  a  man  who  says, 
“  When  that  boy  grows  up  I  will  give  him 
education,  money,  and  everything  necessary 
to  start  out  for  himself.”  Would  that  be 
right?  Seeing  that  he  offered  nothing  but 
benefits,  would  he  not  have  the  right  to 
make  the  promise? 

You  say?  “Yes”.  Do  you,  then,  consider 
salvation  a  less  important  gift  than  riches? 
The  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life  through  J esns 
Christ  our  Lord  (Rom.  6  :23),  is  it  not?  Did 
not  God  have  the  right,  then,  to  offer  you 
this  free  gift  before  you  could  realize  what 


39 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


His  offer  meant  ?  Did  He  not  have  the  right 
to  guarantee  the  gift  to  you  as  a  'babe  in 
baptism?  Remember  that  God  promised 
only  good,  and  no  evil.  “To  be  a  God  unto 
thee.”  The  only  thing  required  of  you  is 
faith  which  gratefully  accepts  the  gift,  and, 
this  very  faith  is  part  of  the  promised 
blessing.  As  I  reminded  you  at  the  begin¬ 
ning,  “the  Lord  was  pleased  to  make  a 

second  covenant, .  promising  to  give 

to  all  those  that  are  ordained  unto  life,  his 
Holy  Spirit,  to  make  them  willing  and  able 
to  believe.”  See  Eph.  2:8,  Phil.  1:29. 

But  the  reason,  why  I  consider  this  in¬ 
vention  one  of  the  most  wicked,  is,  because 
at  bottom  you  blame  God  for  your  own  sin¬ 
fulness.  God  offered  you  salvation,  includ¬ 
ing  every  blessing  needed  by  unfortunate 
man.  You  are  unwilling  to  apply  for  the 
blessing.  Now  you  state,  “I  am  not  to 
blame  that  I  have  'been  baptized.”  As  if 
there  is  any  blame  in  the  case  at  all !  Sure¬ 
ly,  you  will  not  curse  God  for  establishing 
with  you,  sinner,  lost  sinner,  a  covenant  of 
grace?  Had  you  not  better  accept  the  gra¬ 
cious  promise? 

But  no,  you  are  not  so  easily  caught.  You 


40 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


have  sought  out  another  invention.  “Well”, 
you  remark,  “if  not  all  baptized  people  are 
going  to  be  saved  in  the  end,  but  only  the 
elect,  I  shall  wait  until  the  end.  We  shall 
see.  If  I  am  among  the  fortunate  elect,  I 
shall  be  saved,  and  otherwise  not.” 

That  is  true.  But  to  wait  until  the  end 
would  be  too  dangerous.  The  very  fact  that 
God  has  nowhere  revealed  who  are  and 
who  are  not  among  the  elect  should  put  you 
on  your  guard  against  starting  from  the 
top.  You  cannot  climb  a  ladder  from  the 
top.  You  must  needs  begin  at  the  bottom 
rung.  But  the  bottom  rung  is  repentance, 
not  election.  Your  salvation,  as  far  as  the 
practical  carrying  out  of  the  work  goes, 
begins  here  on  earth.  It  will  end  in  heaven. 
It  begins  with  God  promising  you,  1  am 

the  Lord  thy  God, . Open  thy  mouth 

aide,  and  I  will  fill  it  (Ps.  81:10).  It  will 
end  with  your  looking  into  the  things 
which  are  at  present  hidden  from  your  eye. 

But  again  you  plead  your  cause.  You 
declare  that  you  may  be  justified.  For  the 
sinner  would  rather  blame  God  than  to  be 
responsible  himself.  So  you  continue,  “But 
if  I  cannot  even  will  to  be  saved,  why 


4i 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


should  I  try  to  come  unto  Christ?  It  will 
not  work  anyhow.  I  cannot  come  to  Christ 
except  God  works  first,  according  to  your 
own  doctrine,  and  of  this  work  I  notice 
nothing.  Did  not  Jesus  say,  No  man  can 
come  to  me  except  the  Father  which  hath 
sent  me,  draw  him  (John  6:44)  ”  ? 

Very  true.  But  let  me  counterplead  with 
another  question.  What  right  have  you  to 
suppose  that  God  the  Father  is  not  drawing 
you?  When  He  had  you  baptized  this  too 
was  sealed  and  promised  that  He  would 
draw  you  unto  Christ.  This  He  does  by  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  by  the  reading  of 
a  booklet  such  as  this.  These  are  outward 
means  which  He  uses  in  order  to  bring 
about  the  inward  change.  Not  always,  no. 
Some  are  hardened.  To  the  one  we  are  the 
savour  of  death :  and  to  the  other  the  savour 
of  life  unto  life  (2  Cor.  2:16).  But  here  is 
my  question,  ‘What  right  do  you  have  to 
presuppose  that  God  does  not  mean  the 
gospel  call  in  your  particular  case  just  in 
the  way  in  which  it  comes  to  you  ? 1  Whence 
do  you  get  the  right  to  take  for  granted 
that  when  God  promised  you  salvation  in 
the  way  of  faith,  He  intended  not  to  impart 


42 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


this  faith  unto  you?  I  claim  that  all  God’s 
dealings  with  you  so  far  have  pointed  in 
the  opposite  direction.  I  could  mention  a 
string  of  facts  which  should  lead  you  to 
believe  that  the  promises  were  meant  as 
they  came  unto  you.  There  is  the  fact  that 
you  were  bom  of  Christian  parents,  and 
not  on  any  “dark  continent.”  There  is  your 
baptism.  There  is  the  restraining  power  of 
God  which  has  kept  you  from  worse  ways 
than  you  have  gone.  There  is  the  invitation 
extended  to  you  to  “come  and  take  the 
water  of  life  freely.”  And  tho  you  have 
all  this,  you  would  prefer  to  depart,  not, 
from  what  you  did  actually  receive  at  His 
gracious  hands;  but,  from  the  only  thing 
you  do  not  have,  that  is  an  insight  into 
His  hidden;  counsel.  And  that  only  because 
there  is  a  possibility  (by  no  means  a  cer¬ 
tainty)  that  God  did  not  wish  to  save  you. 
Do  you  not  see  that  your  course  of  action 
is  irrational?  That  you  will  never  be  able 
to  excuse  yourself  before  the  Judge  of 
heaven  and  earth  with  such  inventions  as 
1  hese,  because  He  would  hold  up  before  you 
His  many  promises,  His  great  patience,  and 
blame  you  for  your  unwillingness  to  take 


43 


let  us  plead  together 


Him  at  His  word?  Truly,  you  are  heaping 
sin  upon  sin. 

What  you  should  do  to  get  out  of  the 
dilemma?  You  should  pray  as  follows, 
“Lord  God,  Thou,  Who  hast  included  me 
in  the  covenant  of  grace,  grant  that  I  may 
see  Thee  as  the  God  of  the  sure  covenant: 
‘The  Lord,  The  Lord  God,  merciful  and 
gracious,  longsulfering,  and  abundant  in 
goodness  !,and  truth,  Keeping  mercy  for 
thousands,  forgiving  iniquity  and  trans¬ 
gression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means 
clear  the  guiltjq  visiting  the  iniquity  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children,  and  upon  the 
children’s  children,  unto  the  third  and  to 
the  fourth  generation.’  Teach  me  to  take 
Thee  at  Thy  word,  that  I  may  accept  the 
mercy  that  has  been  offered  me  many  a 
time;  lest  I  should  experience  Thy  right¬ 
eous  wrath.  Draw  me*,  Father,  and  make  me 
see  that  Thou  art  drawing  me.  Deliver  me 
out  of  all  my  miseries,  and  do  graciously 
prevent  that,  to  all  of  my  iniquities,  I 
should  add  the  heinous  sin  of  making  Thee 
a  liar.” 

With  the  sure  conviction  that  such  a 
prayer  will  be  answered  I  now  turn  to  the 


44 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


less  culpable  ‘  ‘  inventions  They  are  less 
guilty  because  they  do  not  charge  the  Holy 
One  with  sin,  but  proceed  from  a  desire  to 
belittle  the  need  of  conversion ;  or,  to  post¬ 
pone  it.  These  I  called 

(B)  SPECIOUS  EXCUSES 

that  is,  excuses  which  appear  nice,  but  are 
so  only  seemingly.  These  are  the  various 
aspects  under  which 

FEAR 

asserts  itself.  Many  there  be  who  are  afraid 
that  their  sins  are  too  great.  When  I  speak 
to  them  of  confessing  Christ,  they  reply, 
‘‘1  am  guilty  of  a  great  sin.”  That  is  why 
you  consider  the  church  too  sacred  for  such 
a  one  as  you  are?  I  am  glad,  my  brother, 
on  your  behalf.  For  this,  if  anything,  is  an 
unmistakable  sign  of  grace.  Not,  of  course, 
if  you  only  make  the  statement  in  order  to 
excuse  yourself.  But  I  take  it  that  you  are 
sincere,  and  that  you  actually  see  your  sin 
as  a  terrible  burden.  My  friend,  you  should 
thank  the  Lord  for  this.  Have  you  ever 
spoken  to  the  natural  man?  He  will  not 
grant  that  he  is  a  sinner.  He  may  concede 


45 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


the  fact  in  this  general  way,  that  we  are 
all  sinful;  that  “none  of  us  are  angels.” 
But  do  not  tell  him  that  he  is  worse  than 
any  one  else.  Do  not  ask  him  whether  he 
considers  himself  too  corrupt  to  he  accepted 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God’s  grace.  He  would 
not  admit  this.  Do  not  inquire  into  his  sense 
of  guilt.  The  natural  man  is  proud,  and  self- 
satisfied.  But  it  was  grace  which  made  a 
David  say  of  himself,  Behold,  I  was  shapen 

in  iniquity . Hide  thy  face  from  my 

sms,  and  blot  out  all  mine  iniquities.  Create 

in  me  a  clean  heart,  0  God .  (Ps.  51). 

Kow  much  good  does  one  find  within  him¬ 
self  when  praying  thus?  Job  was  perfect 
and  upright,  and  one  that  feared  God.  and 
eschewed  evil  (Job.l:l),  according  to  God’s 
own  judgment.  Yet  the  same  Job  stated, 
Behold,  I  am  vile ;  what  shall  I  answer  Thee 
(40:4)  ?  and  Paul  the  apostle  called  himself 
chief  of  the  sinners  (1  Tim.  1:15). 

So  you  see,  it  is  the  grace  of  God  which 
makes  one  see  his  iniquities.  You  need, 
however,  more  than  the  knowledge  of  sin. 
You  cannot  be  convinced  of  your  own  un¬ 
worthiness  too  deeply,  but  you  must  know 
equally  well,  that  the  love  of  Christ  is 

46 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


greater  than  your  former  hatred.  The  same 
David  added;,  A  broken  and  contrite  heart. 
0  God ,  Thou  wilt  not  despise  t(.vs.  17).  Paul 
did  not  merely  say  that  he  was  chief  of  the 
Sinner's,  but,  This  is  a  faithful  saying,  and 
worthy  of  all  acceptation,  that  Christ  Jesus 
come  into  the  world  to  save  sinners :  of 
whom  I  am  chief.  John  taught  how  we  may 
get  rid  of  the  burden  of  sin :  If  ive  confess 
cur  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  to  forgive 
us  our  sins,  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  un¬ 
righteousness  (1  John.  1:9). 

There  is  but  one  sin  which  cannot  be 
forgiven.  It  is  the  so-called  sin  against  the 
Koly  Spirit  of  God.  But  no  one  need  be 
afraid-  on  this  account.  For  when  we  con¬ 
sider  the  passages  dealing  with  this  sin 
(Matt.  12:31,  Ileb.  6:4-6)  we  find  two 
things.  We  see  that  the  nature  of  this  sin 
is  to  oppose  the  work  of  God’s  Spirit  will¬ 
fully,  and  deliberately.  Not  merely  to  keep 
the  door  of  our  heart  closed  when  we  hear 
the  Savior  knock,  is  to  commit  this  terrible 
crime ;  but,  to  oppose  His  work  with  others 
by  ascribing  the  work  of  God,  while  we 
know  it  to  be  such,  to  the  devil.  This  is 
done  from  hatred  against  God  and  against 


47 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


the  coming  of  His  kingdom.  Again,  we  are 
taught  that  such  people  cannot  repent. 
They  may  become  afraid  of  the  conse¬ 
quences  of  their  sins  with  a  fear  leading  to 
suicide,  as  was  the  case  with  Judas  Iscariot, 
but  they  cannot  feel  sorry  because  of  the 
greatness  of  their  trespasses  as  such.  They 
glory  in  sin,  though  they  may  regret  its 
results. 

With  this  one  exception,  All  manner  of 
sin  and  blasphemy  shall  be  fm*  given  unto 
men  (Matt.  12:31). 

I  pray  you,  therefore,  do  not  think  less 
great  of  the  power  of  Christ  unto  salvation 
tii an  you  do*  of  your  own  sinfulness.  Come 
now  and  let  us  reason  together saith  the 
Lord :  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet ,  they 
shall  be  as  white  as  snow ;  though  they  be 
red  like  crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool.  And 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  His  Son  cleanseth 
us  from  all  sin  (Is.,  1 :18 ;  1  John  1:7). 

And  what  is  more,  this  cleansing  grace 
has  been  promised  you  in  baptism,  and  that 
by  a  God  Who  knew  how  great  your  sins 
would  be ;  and  He  knew  it  better  than  you 
will  ever  see  it.  So  to  you  I  say  with  bold¬ 
ness, 


48 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


“Come  to  Christ,  confession  make, 

Come  to  Christ,  and  pardon  take. 

Trust  in  Him  from  day  to  day: 

Pie  will  lead  you  all  the  way.” 

Yes,  the  latter  also.  For  it  is  not  un¬ 
common  that  after  this  first  obstacle  has 
been  removed,  the  young*  convert  still 
hesitates.  And  upon  inquiring*  why  he  still 
keeps  aloof,  he  answers,  “What  if  I  join 
church,  and  cannot  live  right  afterward?” 

Yet,  this  form  of  fear,  too,  should  not  be 
indulged  in.  Let  me  first,  however,  object 
to  your  term,  “if  I  join  church”.  Making 
confession  of  faith  is  not  joining  church. 
You  are  already  a  church-member.  You  are 
not  a  full  member,  sharing  all  the  privileges 
of  church  membership ;  but  you  are  a  mem¬ 
ber  just  the  same.  This  is  one  reason  why 
you  should  leave  the  principles,  and  go  on 
unto  perfection.  For  you  cannot  remain  a 
child.  You  cannot  do  it  physically.  Nor 
spiritually.  As  to  your  scruples  in  regard 
to  “living  right”;  and  to  the  oft  repeated 
question,  “What  would  people  say  if  I 
confessed,  and  should  not  live  right  after¬ 
wards  ?  ”  I  have  a  few  things'  to  reply. 

First :  Let  us  rule  man  out  altogether. 
There  is  a  far  more  important  question  for 


49 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


you  to  consider.  It  is  this:  ‘What  would 
God  say  should  you  confess  His  Son  as 
your  Savior,  and  live  in  sin  afterwards?’ 
You  agree  that  He  would  disapprove  of  it? 
Not  audibly  now,  but  surely  in  the  day  of 
judgment?  But  does  that  imply  that  for 
this  reason  He  will  approve  of  your  re¬ 
maining  a  baptized  member  of  His  church  ? 
There  are  three  things  you  might  do.  You 
might  confess  Christ,  and  afterward  live 
in  sin.  You  might  not  confess  Him  at  all. 
Or  you  may  confess  Him  and  live  ‘  ‘  in  new¬ 
ness  of  life.”  The  first  two  are  wrong,  and 
directly  against  His  commandment.  The 
last  course  only  is  the  right  one  to  take. 
You  cannot,  then,  improve  much  upon  not 
doing  the  first  evil  by  committing  the 
second.  The  only  thing  to  do  is  to  follow 
the  last  named  course.  Come,  brother,  con¬ 
fess  Christ,  and  live  a  life  of  holiness. 

You  say  you  cannot  do  it?  Jesus  knew  it. 
Yet  He  said,  Be  ye  therefore  perfect ,  even 
as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  per¬ 
fect  (Matt.  5:48).  Now  what  is  the  whole 
secret  of  this  apparent  discrepancy?  It  is 
very  simple.  When  Christ  calls  any  one  to 
follow  Him  He  will  impart  the  needed 


50 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


strength  to  do  it.  “He  will  lead  you  all  the 
way.”  That  is  it.  Making  confession  of 
faith  surely  implies  a  promise  to  live  ac¬ 
cording  to  God’s  commandments.  That  is 
no  slight  affair.  Well  may  we  search  our 
hearts  whether  we  have  a  true  desire  to 
Eve  not  only  according  to  some  but  all  the 
commandments  of  God  (Heid.  Cat.  A.  114). 
To  make  confession  of  faith  is  not  to  ex¬ 
press  our  ability  to  do  so,  but  to  give  ut¬ 
terance  to  our  willingness  to  do  so.  When 
you  make  confession  in  the  right  spirit  you 
do  not  say,  ‘From  now  on  I  will  show  the 
world  what  I  can  do’.  You  do  not  pray, 
God,  I  thank  Thee  that  I  am  not  as  other 
men  are ;  but  you  beseech  Him,  saying,  God 
•  be  merdiful  to  me  a  sinner  (Lk.  18:9).  In 
other  words,  what  1  ask  of  you  is  not  that 
you  should  make  any  promise  whatever 
concerning  things  you  will  do  in  your  own 
strength,  but  since  you  have  had  the 
promise  sealed  unto  you  so  long,  and  have 
heard  the  invitation  to  come  so  often,  I 
want  you  to  come  and  say,  with  Augustine, 
“Lord  give  that  which  Thou  demandest, 
and  Thou  shalt  not  demand  in  vain  ’  ’ ; Lord , 
save  us,  we  perish  (Matt.  8:25). 

5i 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


“Nothing  in  my  hand  I  bring: 

Simply  to  Thy  cross  I  cling.” 

To  be  sure,  when  confessing  Christ 
as  your  Savior,  you  promise  that  you  will 
swear  no  more,  that  you  will  steal  no  more, 
that  you  will  foster  impure  thoughts  no 
longer.  But  your  confession  of  Christ  as 
Savior  implies  first  of  all  this:  Though  God 
requires  of  me  all  these  things  and  many 
more,  yet  am  I  unable  to  do  them.  Hence 
I  flee  to  Him  Who  is  able  with  every  temp¬ 
tation  to  show  me  the  way  out.  I  have  His 
sincere  offer  to  enable  me  to  keep  God’s 
commandments.  For  this  reason  I  come, 
and  I  do  so  claiming  the  promise.  For  He 
is  faithful  that  promised  (Heb.  10:23).  So 
you  see  that  while  you  are  trying  to  make 
a  nice  argument  out  of  your  inability, 
stating,  “I  do  not  trust  myself”,  your 
action  really  says,  I  do  not  trust  the  Lord 
God.  Oh  please,  do  not  delay  your  self- 
surrender  any  longer  for  such  specious 
reasons  as  this. 

“  Just  the  same”,  I  hear  you  say,  “ should 
I  take  the  step  you  are  urging  me  to  take, 
some  important  changes  must  occur  in  my 
life.  I  could  not  go  to  theaters,  and  I  will 


52 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


be  honest  to  confess  that  I  like  to  go  to 
theaters,  to  dances,  and  do  other  things 
which  seem  contrary  to  true  church- 
membership.  ” 

I  am  glad  that  you  state  your  mind 
frankly.  Thus  only  can  we  come  to  a  mu¬ 
tual  understanding,  and  our  discussion 
become  profitable.  Certainly,  there  are 
many  things  in  this  world  which  seem 
beautiful,  and  attract  the  senses,  especially 
of  the  young.  But  they  are  not  essentials 
of  happiness.  Neither  are  they  as  gratifying 
as  they  appear  to  be.  Nor  does  any  one 
yield  to  Christ  without  receiving  ample 
compensation  for  what  seems  to  him  at 
first  to  be  the  rendering  of  great  sacrifices. 
Godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  things,  hav¬ 
ing  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of 
that  which  is  to  come  (1  Tim.  4:8).  Behold, 
says  the  Savior,  I  stand  at  the  door  and 
knock :  if  any  man  hear  my  voice,  and  open 
the  door,  I  will  come  in  to  him,  and  will  sup 
with  him,  and  he  with  me  (Rev.  3:20).  The 
whole  question,  then,  can  be  reduced  to  this, 
‘Would  you  rather  go  to  Vaudeville  and 
burlesque  shows,  or  sup  with  Christ?’ 
Remember  His  warning  word,  Ye  cannot 


53 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


serve  God  and  Mammon  (Matt.  6:24).  You 
must  choose,  my  friend;  and  I  think  you 
have  come  to  the  parting  of  the  way.  The 
very  fact  that  you  have  been  considering 
this  matter  and  have  placed  yourself  be¬ 
fore  this  dilemma,  seems  to  me  to  indicate 
that  fact  plainly.  The  next  few  days,  nay 
hours,  of  your  life  may  become  decisive  of 
the  course  your  life  will  take  from  now  on, 
and,  of  your  eternal  state  as  well.  “  Where 
will  you  spend  eternity  ?”  The  answer  to 
that  important  question  will  depend  upon 
the  decision  you  will  make  before  long.  It 
is  because  of  the  enormous  moment  of  your 
early  decision,  it  is  because  of  the  fact  that 
Satan  will  surely  assail  whatever  you  have 
of  faith,  that  I  would  fain  be  of  some  help 
to  you  in  your  crisis.  Now,  may  I  suggest 
that  you  have  not  opened  the  door  far 
enough  for  Christ  to  enter?  And  is  not  that 
precisely  why  you  have  not  been  able  to 
see  the  nothingness  of  things  to  be  surren¬ 
dered,  as  over  against  the  joy  your  soul 
will  taste  when  you  ask  Him  to  sit  upon  the 
throne  of  your  heart?  You  know  you  can¬ 
not  have  both  Christ  and  the  world.  He 
admonishes  you,  Love  not  the  world ,  neither 


54 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


ike  things  that  are  in  the  world  (1  John. 
2:15).  Yon  reply,  “Yes,  Lord,  I  would  like 
the  salvation  Thou  offerest,  but  I  still  love 
the  world,  and  the  things  that  are  in  the 
world.  ”  No  man  can  serve  two  masters 
(Matt.  6:24).  You  have  never  heard  of  any 
one  who  gave  up  the  things,  the  evil  things, 
that  are  in  the  world,  and  received  Christ, 
who  regretted  his  deed,  have  you?  I  have, 
however,  known  those  who  repented  bitter¬ 
ly  because  they  did  not  turn  to  Christ 
earlier  in  life. 

The  thing  you  need,  then,  is  more  love 
to  Christ. 

“More  love  to  Thee,  O  Christ, 

More  love  to  Thee! 

Hear  Thou  the  prayer  I  make 
On  bended  knee; 

This  is  my  earnest  plea: 

More  love,  O  Christ,  to  Thee, 

More  love  to  Thee, 

More  love  to  Thee!” 

0,  I  believe,  thou  are  not  far  from  the 
kingdom  of  God.  While  the  world  is  still 
drawing,  and  Satan  is  trying  to  keep  you 
from  Him,  Christ  is  knocking.  “Jesus  is 
tenderly  calling  thee  home.”  If  you  know 
not  what  to  do,  if  your  faith  is  not  vital 
enough  to  formulate  a  prayer  of  its  own, 


55 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


you  should  just  repeat  the  prayer  of  others. 
I  advise  you  to  go  over  the  following  hymn 
prayerfully,  and  to  repeat  this  prayer  until 
the  joy  that  passeth  understanding  will 
dawn  upon  your  soul: 

"Nearer,  still  nearer,  close  to  Thy  heart, 

Draw  me,  my  Savior,  so  precious  Thou  art; 
Fold  me,  O  fold  me  close  to  Thy  breast, 
Shelter  me  safe  in  that  ‘Haven  of  Rest’. 

Nearer,  still  nearer,  nothing  I  bring, 

Naught  as  an  off’ring  to  Jesus  my  King; 
Only  my  sinful,  now  contrite  heart, 

Grant  me  the  cleansing  Thy  blood  doth  impart. 

Nearer,  still  nearer,  Lord,  to  be  Thine, 

Sin,  with  its  follies,  I  gladly  resign; 

All  of  its  pleasures,  pomp  and  its  pride, 

Give  me  but  Jesus,  my  Lord  crucified. 

Nearer,  still  nearer,  while  life  shall  last, 

Till  safe  in  glory  my  anchor  is  cast; 

Thro’  endless  ages,  ever  to  be, 

Nearer,  my  Savior,  still  nearer  to  Thee.” 

But  perhaps  you  reason,  “All  that  is  all 
right.  And  to  be  able  to  point  to  Christ  as 
my  own  dear  Master,  certainly  appeals  to 
me  at  times.  There  are  periods  when  my 
heart  is  touched.  This  occurs  during  the 
preaching  of  my  pastor,  and  at  other  times. 
But,  it  seems,  if  I  were  a  Christian,  these 
periods  ought  to  be  much  more  frequent, 

56 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


and  they  should  last  longer.  Hence  I  am 
afraid  that  my  superficial  emotions  are  not 
indicative  of  true  faith.  ”  Again  I  wish  to 
plead  with  you.  With  all  the  power  of  con¬ 
viction  which  my  word  is  able  to  carry  I 
assure  you  that  it  is  exactly  you  who  are 
in  sore  need  of  connecting  yourself  with 
Christ  firmly  and  definitely.  W7henever  you 
hear  a  word  which  makes  you  think,  I  wish 
I  had  that,  I  wish  I  could  say,  ‘  That  is  my 
privilege’,  be  sure  it  is  the  Master  Himself 
knocking  at  the  door  of  your  heart.  In  such 
cases  do  not  leave  the  place  where  you  are 
without  breathing  a  word  of  prayer  in 
silence.  Say,  “Oh  God,  I  wish  I  had  that. 
Help  me,  Lord,  grant  unto  me  the  joy  of 
salvation.  Do  not  permit  this  impression  to 
evaporate  without  bringing  me  closer  to 
Thee.” 

Have  you  not  read  of  the  birds  of  the  air 
which  came  and  ate  the  seed  that  was 
sown?  Follow  up  your  good  impressions 
with  just  a  short,  but  fervent  prayer.  Such 
prayers  take  but  a  few  moments.  But  they 
come  from  the  heart.  That  is  what  counts 
most  in  prayer.  It  is  this  which  develops 
spiritual  life. 


57 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


Yon  should,  however,  be  on  your  guard 
against  making  a  common  mistake.  Do  not 
think  that  God  will  give  you  an  advance 
supply  of  grace,  of  faith,  of  religious  emo¬ 
tions.  For  He  will  do  so  neither  before,  nor 
after  you  confess  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  will 
feed  your  spiritual  life  as  He  nourished  the 
physical  life  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilder¬ 
ness.  Day  by  day  they  had  to  go  out  and 
gather  their  Manna.  Day  by  day  you  will 
have  to  appeal  for  fresh  impressions  of  His 
love  and  of  your  faith.  Now,  will  you  not 
admit  that  you,  instead  of  waiting  for  your 
religious  emotions  to  multiply  themselves 
automatically,  should  implore  your  Cove¬ 
nant-God  to  renew  these  tokens  of  His 
loving  care?  Pray,  do  not  deceive  yourself. 
Do  not  mark  as  sincere  hesitancy  that 
which  is  due  to  lack  of  prayer.  If  you 
would  pray  more,  you  would  rest  more 
assured.  For  all  things  whatsoever  ye  shall 
ask  in  prayer  believing ,  ye  shall  receive 
(Matt.  21:22).  But  if  there  is  time  for 
everything  except  for  prayer,  do  you 
marvel  that  God,  after  giving  you  the  thirst 
of  living  water,  does  not  quench  the  thirst 
you  try  in  vain  to  satisfy  elsewhere? 

58 


let  us  plead  together 


“No  time  to  pray!  No  time  to  pray! 

O  who  so  fraught  with  earthly  care, 

As  not  to  give  to  humble  prayer 
Some  part  of  day? 

No  time  to  pray!  No  time  to  pray! 

Must  care,  or  business’  urgent  call 

So  press  us  as  to  take  it  all, 

Each  passing  day? 

Cease  not  to  pray!  Cease  not  to  pray! 

On  Jesus  as  your  all  rely; 

Would  you  live  happy — happy  die? 

Take  time  to  pray.” 

Do  not  fear,  either,  that,  because  temp¬ 
tations  arise  as  soon  as  the  church  has  been 
closed  behind  you,  your  religious  convic¬ 
tions  have  been  false.  The  more  the  enemy 
has  reason  to  fear  your  possible  salvation, 
the  more  he  will  try  to  cooperate  with  your 
carnal  mind  to  throw  you  off  your  spiritual 
balance.  Do  not  listen  to  his  disheartening 
suggestions.  Get  busy,  and  work  with  the 
desire  your  God  has  given  you.  Such  was 
the  advice  an  experienced  minister  gave  a 
doubting  woman.  She  had  been  converted 
as  a  direct  result  of  his  preaching.  But  later 
on  she  began  to  doubt  her  sincerity.  Did 
she  not  find  too  many  sins  within  her 
breast  to  believe  that  she  really  yielded 
herself  to  Christ?  In  the  anxiety  of  her  soul 


59 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


she  travelled  many  miles  with  her  horse 
and  buggy.  Her  minister  had  moved  to  a 
different  town.  Him  she  must  see !  He  would 
help  her !  All  morning  she  traveled  the 
rough  roads.  In  the  afternoon  she  reached 
the  parsonage.  But  the  minister  could  not 
receive  her.  He  was  just  ready  to  leave 
home  upon  an  urgent  errand.  He  listened 
to  her  appeal,  however.  And  his  comment? 
“I  can  say  but  one  thing:  go,  and  work 
with  that  which  God  has  given  you.” 

Disappointed  she  started  upon  the  long 
and  tiresome  journey  homeward.  Did  she 
have  to  spend  a  day  traveling  for  such 
advice  as  this?  As  she  joggled  along,  how¬ 
ever,  the  meaning  of  the  pastor’s  word  im¬ 
pressed  itself  upon  her  mind.  She  under¬ 
stood.  God  had  given  her  a  capital,  small 
perhaps.  But  there  was  a  beginning.  She 
had  forgotten  to  put  her  talent  in  the  bank, 
and  draw  its  interest.  From  the  man  with 
whom  she  had  sought  aid,  she  turned  to 
the  Lord  who  “would  perfect  that  which 
concerned  her  (Ps.  138).” 

Do  not  wait,  then,  to  come  to  Christ  until 
you  will  have  received  a  written  notice, 
‘Thou  are  one  of  Mine’.  For  such  state- 


60 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


ments  are  not  issued  from  the  heavenly 
Bank  of  God’s  Sure  Promises.  You  have 
three  things :  God ’s  ‘  ‘  sure  word  of  prom¬ 
ise”;  God’s  sacrament;  and  the  desire  to 
be  saved.  The  first  two  are  unalterable. 
But  the  third,  if  only  sincere,  is  equally 
much  “without  ^repentance.”  Remember, 
Scripture  teaches  that  you  are  dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins.  Now  a  dead  man  cannot 
stir.  He  cannot  even  wish  for  salvation. 
For  he  is  dead.  Wherever  there  is  a  true 
desire  for  the  bread  of  life,  therefore,  God 
has  been  working. 

Hence  let  me  remind  you  of  the 

ENCOURAGEMENT 

which  the  Reformed  conception  of  the 
Truth  may  impart  to  those  who  would  like 
to  be  saved,  but  are  encumbered  with  fear. 
As  you  know,  no  system  of  thought  em¬ 
phasizes  as  strongly  as  does  the  Reformed 
the  fact  of  “total  depravity.”  This  fact, 
that  the  natural  man  is  totally  unable  to  do 
anything  whatever  of  a  meritorious  charac¬ 
ter,  is  not  generally  recognized.  The 
thought  is  not  at  all  popular.  Most  men 
seek  some  good  in  themselves  wherewith 

61 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


they  hope  to  plead  before  God.  Even  if 
Christ  admittedly  must,  work  most  of  their 
salvation.  Scripture,  however,  teaches  very 
plainly  this  total  depravity.  We  are  all  as 
an  unclean  thing ,  and  all  our  righteous¬ 
nesses  are  as  filthy  rags  (Is.  64:6),  is  said 
by  an  inspired  Israelite.  Of  Gentiles  and 
Jews  alike  Paul  repeats.  There  is  none  tJiat 
doeth  good ,  no  not  one  (Rom.  3:12).  These 
quotations  might  be  multiplied  ten  times. 
But  let  it  suffice  to  look  at  the  expressions, 
dead  in  sins ,  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins, 
as  quoted  above.  These  terms  occur  in 
Eph.  2:1,  5;  Col.  2.T3.  Both  times  it  is 
stated  that  this  being  dead,  spiritually 
dead,  was  the  original  condition  of  believ¬ 
ers.  And  that,  in  order  to  do  good,  they 
had  to  be  quickened,  that  is  made  alive,  by 
God.  Hence  the  expression  “  being  born 
again”  as  used  by  Christ.  All  this  means 
that  man,  as  far  as  doing  God’s  command¬ 
ments  in  an  acceptable  way,  is  absolutely 
ina/ble.  Dead  is  dead;  not  half,  or  almost 
dead.  A  dead  man  can  neither  stir  nor 
move.  Hence*,  he|  has  to  be  made  alive,  to 
undergo  being  born. 

But  now,  what  is  included  in  this?  That 

62 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


whenever,  and  wherever  there  is  a  true 
desire  to  serve  God,  and  to  be  saved  by 
Him,  God  has  already  given  the  new  birth. 
For  without  the  work  of  His  Spirit,  there 
is  no  inkling  of  life.  Hence,  the  admonition 
is  entirely  in  its  place,  Work  out  your  own 
salvation  with  fear  and  trembling ;  for  it  is 
God  Who  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and 
to  work,  for  His  good  pleasure  (Phil.  2:12, 
13).  That  is,  since  man  of  himself  is  dead, 
which  includes  his  will  as  part  of  the  dead 
man!,  he  cannot  even  will  to  be  saved.  If  he 
wills,  therefore,  God  has  begun  the  good 
work  in  him.  But  God  does  not  do  an  im¬ 
perfect  work.  When  He  has  “quickened”, 
life  must  reveal  itself.  As  truly  as  a  dead 
man  cannot  stir,  a  living  man  cannot  re¬ 
main  motionless.  Hence,  with  the  life  God 
has  given  you  in  the  desire  for  His  salva¬ 
tion,  you  must  begin  to  work. 

But  why  must  you  work  out  your  own 
salvation  with  that  God-given  vitality, 
“with  fear  and  trembling?”  For  two  rea¬ 
sons,  First,  because  The  heart  is  deceitful 
above  all  things ,  and  desperately  wicked: 
who  can  know  it  (Jer.  17 :9)  ?  It  is  possible 
that  you  deceive  yourself.  That  what  you 

63 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


mistake  for  thirst  of  the  living  water  is 
only  fear  of  condemnation,  or,  of  the  re¬ 
sults  of  sin  in  this  life.  Should  you  be  afraid 
that  your  desire  is  not  genuine,  all  you  will 
have  to  do  is  to  repeat  frequently  the  pray¬ 
er  of  David,  Who  can  understand  his  er¬ 
rors ?  Cleanse  Thou  me  from  secret  faults 
(Ps.  19:12).  Or  his  petition,  Search  Thou 
me,  0  God,  and  know  my  heart :  try  me,  and 
know  my  thoughts:  And  see  if  there  be  any 
wicked  way  in  me,  and  lead  me  in  the  way 
everlasting  (Ps.  139 :  23,  24) . 

So  this  matter  is  simple  enough.  Should 
you  fear  that  you  are  not  sincere,  ask  your 
God  to  find  out  for  you  whether  you  are 
sincere,  and  to  lead  you  in  the  right  way. 
That  prayer  cannot  but  be  answered.  Do 
you  doubt  the  sincerity  of  that  very  pray¬ 
er?  There  is  the  other  prayer,  that  you 
may  be  cleansed  from  secret  faults. 

The  second  reason  why  you  should  work 
with  fear  and  trembling?  It  is  that  unless 
you  work  earnestly  and  continuously,  you 
will  not  attain  to  the  end  of  your  faiith, 
even  the  salvation  of  your  souls  (1  Peter 
1:9).  God  wants  you  to  work  out  your  own 
salvation  with  the  new  life  and  strength 

64 


LET  US  PLEAD  TOGETHER 


He  gave  you.  Why?  Just  because  'He  wants 
it.  That  is  all.  And  that  is  enough.  Why 
does  God  want  a  man  after  he  gave  him 
life,  to  eat  in  order  to  sustain  and  develop 
that  life?  Just  because  that  is  the  way  He 
thinks  wise.  Now,  as  God  wanted  Adam 
to  eat,  altho  God  was  to  keep  him  alive  thru 
His  power,  thus  He  wants  you  to  get  busy, 
and  work  for  your  salvation,  altho  it  is 
God  who  works  in!  you.  It  is  God  Who  up¬ 
holds  your  physical  life.  It  is  you  who  do 
the  eating.  It  would  be  you  who  would  do 
the  murder,  should  you  stop  from  eating. 
It  is  the  same  way  here.  Since  God  has 
given  you  life  (the  desire  to  be  saved  by 
Christ),  the  next  step  must  be  taken  by 
you.  You  must  eat.  And  what  is  that?  It  is 
to  come  to  Christ,  saying,  ‘Lord,  here  I 
am.  Without  Thee  I  can  do  nothing.  With 
Thee  I  can  do  all  Thou  wantest  me  to  do.” 

“Other  refuge  have  I  none, 

Hangs  my  helpless  soul  on  Thee: 

Leave,  ah  leave  me  not  alone, 

Still  support  and  comfort  me.” 

To  do  this  is  to  surrender  yourself  to 
Him.  It  is  essentially  the  same  as  to  make 
confession  of  the  Lord  Jesus  as  your 

65 


let  us  plead  together 


Savior.  It  is  that  which  we  have  seen  is 
necessary  unto  salvation  (Rom.  10:9). 

Now  then,  let  me  speak  just  a  few  more 
words  concerning-  this  undue  fear  which 
keeps  many  from  Christ  and  confession, 
and  I  will  ask  your  attention  but  a  minute 
for  a  closing  appeal. 

Do  not  omit  confessing  for  fear  that  your 
temptations  will  be  too  strong  for  you  to 
overcome.  These  temptations  will  come. 
But  they  will  be  harder  to  overcome  if  you 
have  kept  shy  of  Jesus.  The  more  strongly 
and  definitely  you  bind  yourself  to  Him, 
the  more  surely  you  will  receive  His  help. 
For  He  promised  you  that  He  would  be 
your  strong  friend.  Remember  that !  He 
never  broke  His  promise  to  this  day.  If  you 
plead  the  promise,  He  is  faithful. 

Do  not  fear  the  trials  of  your  faith.  They 
are  bound  to  come.  Much  sorrow,  pain  and 
grief  may  await  you.  But  with  Christ  you 
will  be  able  to  endure  to  the  end.  Should 
you,  however,  go  thru  life  without  Christ, 
losses  and  bereavements  will  not  be  spared 
you  for  that  reason.  It  will  be  only  that 
much  more  difficult.  For  you  would  not  be 
able  to  sing  amidst  affliction,  4 'What  a 

66 


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Friend  we  have  in  Jesus,  All  our  sins  and 
griefs  to  bear!”  Sad,  Oh  sad,  the  life  of 
him  who  has  to  bear  life’s  burden  alone! 

Do  not  fear  to  meet  with  the  consistory 
of  your  church.  Though  they  may  remem¬ 
ber  the  follies  of  your  youthful  days,  they 
are  not  inquisitors.  They  pray  for  the  con¬ 
version  of  God’s  Covenanted  Youth.  They 
asu  of  God  that  the  seed  of  the  church  may 
seive  Him.  They  will,  therefore,  not  try  to 
send  you  back,  or  to  catch  you  in  your 
words.  If  your  knowledge  of  the  Truth  be 
at  all  satisfactory  (and  more  ignorant 
ones  than  you  have  passed),  and  your  de¬ 
sire  to  follow  Christ  by  the  grace  of  God 
is  sincere,  they  will  be  glad  of  your  coming. 
They  will  send  you  upon  your  way  with  a 
prayer  and  a  word  of  encouragement. 

Now  then,  I  have  answered  some  of  the 
objections  that  may  have  caused  your  long 
delay.  I  have  taken  them  from  what  was 
told  me  by  young  people  of  our  own  day, 
and  in  our  own  churches.  Of  these  difficul¬ 
ties  I  have  taken  up  the  most  prevalent. 

It  is  possible  that  I  have  not  hit  the  mark 
in  your  case.  Then  why  not  go  to  your  own 
pastor,  and  tell  him  what  seems  to  be  the 

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trouble?  Why  are  our  young  people  so  shy, 
so  reticent?  Your  pastor  would  not  ridicule 
you,  nor  betray  your  secrets.  Not  any  more 
than  would  the  doctor  to  whom  you  would 
go  with  your  bodily  ailments.  Your  minis¬ 
ter  is  the  doctor  of  the  soul. 

Do  place  yourself  before  the  question, 
What  keeps  me  from  Christ?  Do  not  say, 
Salvation  does  not  depend  upon  confession. 
You  have  heard  Paul  say  that  it  does. 
Moreover,  should  your  faith  be  too  small 
to  be  confessed,  could  it  be  sufficient  to  die 
with  it,  and  meet  your  Judge? 

Do  not  say,  I  have  prayed ;  but  my  pray¬ 
er  does  not  bring  any  result.  For  you  would 
only  show  that  your  prayer  was  either  not 
sincere  enough,  or  not  persistent  enough; 
or,  possibly,  both.  Think  how  Jacob  wrest¬ 
led  in  prayer  with  God  all  night;  how  he 
was  rewarded.  Gen.  32. 

Do  not  hesitate  because  of  the  weakness 
of  your  faith.  For  until  now  you  have  kept 
away  from  the  Lord’s  Supper.  That  sacra¬ 
ment  He  instituted  in  order  to  strengthen 
our  faith.  To  confess  Him  is  to  ask  ad¬ 
mission  to  this  Table.  It  is,  therefore,  a 
confession  of  the  imperfection  of  your 

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faith,  and  a  seeking  of  strengthening  of 
your  faith  in  the  God-appointed  way.  Do 
you  wonder  your  faith  does  not  grow  while 
you  ignore  one  of  the  chief  means  of  growth 
instituted  by  Christ? 

And  finally.  One  more  “don’t”.  In  the 
text  upon  the  frontleaf  God  suggests  that 
His  people  could  not  produce  any  evidence 
why  he  should  justify  them.  He  laughs  as 
it  were  with  a  Divine  ridicule  at  such  an 
utter  impossibility.  Now  that  is  true  of  you, 
too,  is  it  not?  You  have  nothing  to  offer 
but  sin?  At  the  same  time,  however,  the 
Lord  graciously  offers  to  blot  out  their 
transgressions  freely.  Is  it  not  marvelous 
mercy?  What  judge  was  known  to  forgive 
so  freely?  Is  not  this  true  in  your  case  also, 
that  God  has  offered  you  so  great  salvation? 

Why  not  come  then?  Why  not  do  it  now? 

‘‘While  we  pray,  and  while  we  plead, 

While  you  see  your  soul’s  deep  need, 

While  your  Father  calls  you  home, 

Will  you  not,  my  brother,  come?” 

Postponement  may  cause  eternal  regret, 
and  self-accusation.  Remember,  more  people 
under  thirty  years  of  age  die  every  year 
than  older  ones. 


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“And  oh,  for  the  weeping  and  wailing, 

As  the  lost  were  told  of  their  fate! 

They  cried  to>  the  rocks  and  the  mountains; 
They  prayed,  but  their  prayer  was  too  late.’’ 

Why  should  you  deceive  yourself,  and 
think  that  at  some  future  day  you  will  feel 
more  like  coming  than  you  do  now?  What 
reason  have  you  for  such  a  belief?  And 
that  while  you  are  developing  your  charac¬ 
ter  in  the  other  direction? 

And  why  should  you  wilfully  deprive 
yourself  of  the  joy  you  may  now  taste? 

The  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  re¬ 
joicing  the  heart.  Ps.  19  :8. 

And  him  that  cometh  to  me  I  will  in  no 
wise  cast  out.  John  6:37. 

“Now  with  joyful  exultation 
Let  us  sing  Jehovah’s  praise, 

To  the  Rock  of  our  salvation 
Loud  hosannas  let  us  raise; 

Thankful  tribute  gladly  bringing 
Let  us  come  before  Him  now, 

And,  with  psalms  His  praises  singing, 
Joyful  in  His  presence  bow. 

To  the  Lord,  such  might  revealing, 

Let  us  come  with  reverence  meet, 

And,  before  our  Maker  kneeling, 

Let  us  worship  at  His  feet.  , 

He  is  our  own  God,  and  leads  us, 

We  the  people  of  His  care; 

With  ai  shepherd’s  hand  He  feeds  us 
As  His  flock  in  pastures  fair. 

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While  He  proffers  peace  and  pardon 
Let  us  hear  His  voice  today, 

Lest,  if  we  our  hearts  should  harden, 
We  should  perish  in  the  way; 

Lest  to  us,  so  unbelieving, 

He  in  judgment  shall  declare: 

Ye,  so  long  My  Spirit  grieving, 
Never  in  My  rest  can  share.” 


THE  END. 


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I 

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